DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore

The room and service were decent, and my family really enjoyed the trip. The arcade was a lot of fun, and there were plenty of things to do. However, when I checked in, there was no welcome and no signature warm cookie that DoubleTree is known for, which was a bit disappointing. Also, on Hotels.com, the listing mentions a water park as an amenity, but in reality, there’s an extra cost to use it. When I raised this concern, the staff didn’t seem to take it seriously. Overall, we had a good time, but future guests should be aware of the additional water park charge.

This place is not well maintained. Only one elevator was functioning. The place is shabby and not well maintained. The ceiling of our room had what appeared to be a blood stain. The shower curtain was frayed. The hallways were scuffed and the paint was worn. The front desk told me that they could not offer an early check in without looking. I checked my phone, and one of my two rooms had been automatically checked in on the app 20 minutes before asking. This was at 12:30. The beds were comfy, and the breakfast buffet and lounge food were both good. Not the worst, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

I was looking forward to this hotel, which features a beautiful indoor pool with large windows that would have provided shade from the summer sun, but would give the impression that you are outside. To top it off, it advertised an arcade/game room and is located 1 minute away from a water park. Unfortunately, upon arrival, a sign was posted at the front desk stating that the pool would be closed for the duration of my stay for renovation. To make matters worse, the arcade is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and so is the water park (the closure of the arcade on Mondays and Tuesdays is not listed on the amenities page). While the closure of the waterpark on Mondays and Tuesdays is not the hotel’s fault, it compounded the disappointment of not having a pool to use. After facing the disappointment of not having access to a pool that I was looking forward to, I had to repeatedly wade through stale cigarette stench that permeated the front entrance. For a non-smoker, the front entrance stinks. The hotel needs a better designated smoking area. We are all aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. As for the room, while it was somewhat clean, one of the beds squeaks if you sit on it or turn in it, and the other bed appears to be so old that it sags in the middle.